NEW YORK, USA – Harvey Weinstein, the disgraced Hollywood film producer currently incarcerated, has been hospitalised at Bellevue Hospital in Manhattan after an alarming blood test result necessitated urgent medical treatment, his legal team and spokesperson confirmed on Monday, December 2, 2024.
Weinstein, who has been serving time at the notorious Rikers Island jail, was rushed to the hospital for what his attorney, Imran H. Ansari of Aidala Bertuna & Kamins PC, described as “emergent treatment” following the concerning test results.
Ansari alleged that Weinstein’s health issues had been exacerbated by inadequate medical care and what he called the “deplorable and inhumane” conditions at Rikers Island.
“Harvey Weinstein, who has been suffering from a lack of adequate medical care and enduring deplorable and inhumane conditions on Rikers Island, has been transported to Bellevue Hospital for emergent treatment due to an alarming blood test result that requires immediate medical attention,” Ansari said in a statement.
“It is expected that he will remain there until his condition stabilises. His deprivation of care is not only medical malpractice, but a violation of his constitutional rights.”
Weinstein, who was diagnosed with leukemia in October, has faced multiple health challenges while in custody.
His spokesperson, Juda Engelmayer, echoed Ansari’s concerns, arguing that the treatment Weinstein has received while incarcerated constitutes “cruel and unusual punishment.”
“Mr. Weinstein, who is suffering from a number of illnesses, including leukemia, has been deprived the medical attention that someone in his medical state deserves, prisoner or not,” Engelmayer said.
“In many ways, this mistreatment constitutes cruel and unusual punishment.”
Despite the recent overturning of his New York convictions on sex crimes charges, Weinstein remains behind bars.
He was convicted in Los Angeles on separate charges of forcible rape, forced oral copulation, and sexual penetration by a foreign object, which led to his continued incarceration.
The ongoing situation highlights broader issues at Rikers Island, a facility that has long been plagued by allegations of neglect and mistreatment.
In response to these concerns, a judge recently ordered the complex to be placed under federal receivership, and a 2027 deadline has been set for its closure under New York City law.
A spokesperson for the New York City Department of Corrections declined to comment on Weinstein’s hospitalisation when contacted by The New York Times.
Weinstein’s medical condition and ongoing legal battles have brought renewed attention to the treatment of prisoners in the city’s overcrowded and controversial correctional system.
